Movies - Carry On films

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	Movies - Carry On films

The Carry On films were a long-running series of British popular low-budget comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. An energetic mix of parody, farce and double entendres, they are seen as classic examples of British humour.

30 films were made between 1958 and 1978 at Pinewood Studios, and another in 1992. The films relied on a repertoire of comedy actors which gradually changed over the years. The mainstays of the series were Kenneth Williams (26 films), Joan Sims (24), Charles Hawtrey (23) and Sid James (19). One of the most iconic Carry On stars was Barbara Windsor, although she only appeared in 9 of the films.

Their humour was influenced by the British traditions of the music hall and seaside postcards, and many parodied more serious films. They often rely on deliberately bad puns, occasionally rising to inspired heights, as in Carry On Cleo, where Julius Caesar (Kenneth Williams) staggers back from an assassination attempt crying "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!" The mainstay of the Carry Ons' humour was innuendo and the sending-up of British institutions and customs, such as the National Health Service (Nurse, Doctor, Again Doctor, Matron), the Hammer horror film (Screaming), the camping holiday (Camping), the foreign holiday (Abroad), the seaside holiday (Girls), the caravanning holiday (Behind), the monarchy (Henry), the Empire (Up the Khyber) and the trades unions (At Your Convenience), among others. Although the films were very often slated by the critics they were adored by audiences.

The series began with Carry On Sergeant
(1958), about a group of recruits on National Service, and was sufficiently successful that others followed. Its title was based on an earlier Val Guest film, Carry On Admiral (1957), and became a standard form for the series, with a few exceptions. There was also an unrelated 1937 film Carry On London, starring future Carry On performer Eric Barker.

There was also a television series Carry On Laughing, and several Carry On Christmas specials
and stage shows.

Early films

From 1958 to 1962 the films' screenplays were written by Norman Hudis and mostly shot in black and white. Set in institutions of various types, the bungling protagonists usually initially fail, then eventually triumph in the face of some adversity.

Carry On Sergeant
(1958)
Carry On Nurse
(1959), that year's top-grossing film in the UK.
Carry On Teacher
(1959)
Carry On Constable
(1960)
Carry On Regardless
(1961)
Carry On Cruising
(1962), the first colour film of the series.

Classic Carry On

In 1963 Talbot Rothwell took over the role of screenwriter. The films became more ambitious, often parodying well-known films or genres. Coinciding with the sexual revolution, they featured more explicit sexual jokes and situations. The films made in colour in the '60s remain among the most popular of the series.

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